The Rideau Trail is a

hiking trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, linking

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

.Trischuk, Ernie, and Linda Hayes, ''The Rideau Trail Guidebook'', (Rideau Trail Association, Kingston, 7th ed., 2006) Crossing both public and private lands, the trail was created and opened in 1971. It is named for the

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is 202 kilometres long. The name ''Rideau'', French for "curtain", ...

which also connects Ottawa and Kingston, although the two only occasionally connect. The trail crosses terrain ranging from the placid farmland of the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

and

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

valleys to the rugged

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield (french: Bouclier canadien ), also called the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), the anc ...

Frontenac Provincial Park Frontenac Provincial Park is a provincial park located near the town of Sydenham, north of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. This 5,350-hectare park is classified as a natural environment park, and lies on the Frontenac Axis, a topographic extension ...

. The trail also passes through

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

, and

Smiths Falls Smiths Falls is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, southwest of Ottawa. As of the 2021 census it has a population of 9,254. It is in the Census division for Lanark County, but is separated from the county. The Rideau Canal waterway passes th ...

. It is intended only for walking (hiking), snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.

Route and administration

The Rideau Trail begins at

Confederation Park Confederation Park ''(French: Parc de la Confédération)'' is a public park and National Historic Site of Canada, located in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the south by Laurier Avenue and Ottawa City Hall; on t ...

in front of

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

in Kingston. In Ottawa the trail ends at the foot of the

Ottawa Locks on the

, within sight of

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

. The main trail is marked with orange triangular markers from Kingston to Ottawa. In the opposite direction the orange triangles have a yellow tip. Side trails sport blue triangles. The trail is maintained by the Rideau Trail Association (RTA), a non-profit organization which organizes both regular hikes along the trail (and other nearby trails) and work parties for maintenance. The association's registered trademark is an isosceles triangle. RTA membership is open to the public for an annual fee. RTA members organize regular group hikes on the Rideau Trail and in nearby trail systems. The Rideau Trail is divided into three sections each administered by a local RTA section club. The section clubs are Kingston (Kingston to Lally Homestead in

Murphys Point Provincial Park Murphys Point Provincial Park is a provincial park near Perth, Ontario, Canada. The park features natural areas prepared for hiking and skiing as well as access for day-use camping and water sports at Big Rideau Lake. Facilities include a park s ...

), Central (Lally Homestead to Rosedale outside

), and Ottawa (Rosedale to

). Each club awards RTA members who hike their entire section (at once or over multiple trips) an end-to-end badge. The RTA awards an overall end-to-end badge for completing the entire trail and a special edition for completing the entire trail during the months of January and February. At certain points the Rideau Trail overlaps the

K&P Rail Trail The K&P Trail is a recreational trail that runs along the old Kingston and Pembroke Railway (K&P) bed in Ontario, Canada. The K&P was abandoned by its owner, the Canadian Pacific Railway, between 1962 and 1986, and ran from Kingston to Renfrew. ...

Cataraqui Trail The Cataraqui Trail is a 104-km Rails-to-Trails multi-use linear recreational trail in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The route passes by farmland, woods, lakes, and wetlands. The trail begins southwest of Smiths Falls, at a parking lot south of O ...

, and the

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail, officially named The Great Trail between September 2016 and June 2021, is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans. The trail extends ...

. The trail traverses the

Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve The Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located in southeastern Ontario, Canada. The biosphere reserve was designated in 2002, and is one of 16 biosphere reserves in Canada. The Frontenac Arch Biosphere operates primari ...

References

External links

*
Rideau Trail Association
{{Canadian Trails Hiking trails in Ontario

Route and administration

See also

References

External links